


Birth of The Claw

by Tolamin_Alsafi



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), DC Elseworlds, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Earth-41, Earth-5, Gotham City - Freeform, Implied Relationships, Implied Slash, Multiversity, Nimrod Squad, No Romance, Star City - Freeform, Wild-Card, the Scorpion - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-18 03:39:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10608537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tolamin_Alsafi/pseuds/Tolamin_Alsafi
Summary: The Origin Story for the Claw, a semi-original character, and the sidekick of The Scorpion, the Earth 41 Bruce Wayne.





	1. Immediately Afterward

**Author's Note:**

> So this is putting a story out there that kind of bubbled-up in my head thinking about the DC Multiverse. Namely the sidekicks of the not-batman versions of Bruce Wayne. "Claw" and "Stinger" seemed natural names for the sidekicks, corresponding to Batgril and Robin, for the "Scorpion" world of Earth 41. Immediately afterwards my mind went to Barbara loosing the use of her lags in the Killing Joke, and becoming Oracle, and it occurred to me that "claw" could have cybernetic claws and everything just kind of pored from there. Since we know nothing of Earth 41, it's a nice blank canvas to place the DC characters onto.

**Birth of the Claw**

**A Story on Earth 41**

 

**Preface:**

We aren't given a lot to work with for the world of Earth 41. However it is supposed to be a pastiche of Image Comics characters. We also know that in this universe Bruce Wayne also became a crime-fighter, however on this world, his inspiration was scorpions, not bats. Also Earth 35 has characters based of of Awesome Comics properties, most of which originated in Image Comics and have quite a bit of crossover. With that in mind I will assume that inmost aspects Earth 41 is the “darker and edgier” version of Earth 35, thus most of the Earth 35 characters also exist on Earth 41 and visa versa. With Supreme changing tone and the original Supreme being the “Mean Supreme” I have decided to give Earth 41 the history of a vanquished “Meano-Supremo”, who was defeated with the help of Earth 35's Supreme.

From there I take a look are other DC archetypes. Namely the old Crime Syndicate. Why? Supremo. Supremo is supposed to be based on Supreme, specifically the Awesome Comics version, and thus is probably someone who got his powers from a meteorite of some strange “otherworldly” material. To me this reminds me of an earlier version of Ultraman, who was an non-powered human until exposure to Kryptonite. Thus I will suppose a similar “parallel” for many of the other characters. Thus the Earth 41 “wonder woman” Vague is Lois Lane (as a sort of inverse Superwoman), and a Lois who became an actress instead of a reporter. I picture her a similar to main continuity Batwoman with the Earth 41 Sam Lane acting as a supporting character and possibly supplying her with tech from the military. Though I may not go into them. I see Fletch, or at least the “original” Fletch as a treasure-hunter who found one of his worlds seven “weapons of light”, and might even be named Joseph Harolds.

For the rest of Earth 41's (and Earth 35's) characters I am going to have to extrapolate from what I know about the lore of the DC universe. I will presume that Spore is likely a version of Alec Holland. Maybe as swamp-thing Alec made some “devil's bargain” with the rot of Earth 41 to also be it's avatar in exchange for the fate of the rest of the world making him similar to Spawn. Starcop (an Earth 35 character), seems to be martian, and possibly J'onn J'onns, but the moniker suggests an interstellar jurisdiction. An early version of the story of the Manhunters origins was that they were actually named after the martians' manhunters after they turned down the Guardians of the Universe when they were offered to be their universal law enforcement. Perhaps in these universes they took them up, assuming they are both more similar than not. Andrew Bennett is Sepulcher, and Flintsteen is a kryptonite-infused government experiment that tried to duplicate the powers of Supreme.

I also go a bit further in my ideas. Since this world seems to be without a proper Superman, and the likely substitute was an extremist taken down by his better alternate-universe counterpart, I am modeling this universe's Lex Luthor after the version seen in Gods and Monsters, a genius, an asshole, but not really “evil”. Likewise I switch the roles of Harvey Dent and Jim (or James) Gordon. I have Harvey Dent as the police commissioner and Jim Gordon as the District Attorney. Likewise there are some similar Batman villains, but with notable differences, especially because of his chosen theme. Here the vigilante turned villain Tarantula is one of his main foes and he frequently spars with Copperhead.

 

**Chapter 1: Immediately Afterward**

_On Earth 41, at night the streets of Gotham are patrolled by the Scorpion, with his partners, the Claw and Stinger. But it wasn't always like this._

 

Immediately after the attack things were the worst for Barbara Gordon. Her father never asked how it happened. Bruce never came by. Dick did though. All she could do was cry. All he could do was hold her, and that actually made it even worse for her. She couldn't hold him back. Her arms were gone.

She knew that joining their crusade would be dangerous. She knew going out into the field only made it more dangerous. She knew it was probably a trap. She felt so stupid. Her, of all people. Into college at 14, Ph.D. By 18, in the middle of her post-doctoral research. She even got to work in Lex Luthor's think tank. But she still went out on that night. She still walked right into Wild-Card's trap.

She was lucky to be alive. Wild-Card was lucky to escape with his life. Bruce probably would have killed him if he had caught him that night. Would that have made her question her commitment to his cause? What would crossing that line do to Bruce? What would it do to Dick? Would Dick have killed him? That line wasn't crossed, yet. That psycho was still out there.

Bruce never did come by. Lois impersonated a nurse a few times to check on her. The big orange guy actually brought flowers. Commissioner Dent stopped by, and made sure there was always trustworthy security.

After she got home recovery was slow. Her father was wrapped up in a big case, and the Gotham DA rarely had a spare moment. He hired caretakers for her. She had to be fed, like some child. It was so embarrassing.

Then the doctors came from Wayne Enterprises. Then the engineers cam. Then Lucius came. They offered to give her everything back. Advances in cybernetics could allow here to have artificial arms with the full rang of strength and movement, and possibly even a sense of touch. All completely free of charge. Bruce still never came himself. She recognized the technology. It was from the tail. Lucius would sometimes wax into all the possibilities of the technology. She knew exactly what it could do. For just a moment she let herself dream of the possibilities. Out there with the two of them herself with super-human strength and dexterity in her arms. But that was just a fantasy.

When she got her first set of arms she was so happy. However it was still a full week working with doctors, techs and therapists until she could use them at all. After another week she felt like she could barely do anything. Her father was there when she had a meltdown after several failed attempts to get food into her mouth. She talked with the doctors and they decided to send her to physical therapy.

 


	2. The Long Road Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here Earth 41 Barbara learns to use her new arms. Also some insight into some of other Earth 41 versions of these characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my general thoughts on the Earth 41 versions are as follows:
> 
> Lucas stole some of his fathers tech to do vigilante stuff, originally on his own, but got brought onto the team, with Dick and Barbara.
> 
> Stinger uses sedative-laced darts fired from gauntlets.
> 
> Vague, who I'm considering Lois Lane, gets most of her training and special equipment form her Father, who's not a genocidal xenophobe in this reality. She started independently of and around the same time as this universe's Bruce Wayne. She's the tech-based "bad-ass normal" of the Nimrod Squad, who is based on Earth 41's Metropolis.

**Chapter 2: The Long Road Ahead**

_Her first night out was amazing! She had always fantasized about going into the field with Bruce and Dick. The team felt complete. The Scorpion had his Stinger and his Claw now. The neural interface for the cybernetic claws was flawless. They responded like they were her own flesh. She could feel pressure and texture, and with proper settings even taste with them (which was weird). The rest of the information they gathered could be fed into the display goggles built into her mask. But it was quite a road to get here._

 

Barbara's first few times going to physical therapy, felt pointless. However she started to make more and more progress. At first she had to have someone drive her, but after a couple of weeks she could drive herself. Her friends and family sometimes came to visit her. Bruce never came. She never went to the manor either. Soon she exceeding her therapist's expectations, and after a couple of months her therapist suggested they bring in some more advanced specialists. Barbara wasn't sure what he meant, but was up for it.

Lucas Fox was not who she was expecting and not really the kind of “more advanced” specialist she was thinking. For the first few minuets the session progressed as normal, then Lucas asked her to block a punch. She did. The robotic limb moved with perfect precision, almost faster than she realized that she even thought to block the move. Then everything changed.

Lucas moved her though basic fighting moves. They soon reached the limits of her new hardware. That's when he brought something that he and his father had worked on. A new set of arms, not just stronger and faster, but with built-in memory. Now her arms would have muscle memory. After another month she could take anything Lucas could throw at her with her arms. That's when he pointed out her weak-spot: her legwork. The two of them worked on that for a couple of sessions, but after that Lucas said he was going to get her a new teacher. During this time she never saw Bruce.

During this time she re-enrolled in school. She was always an expert in programming and software, but her new arms had stirred an interest in hardware and robotics in her. Lex was glad to see her applying her mind again. He even suggested that she study with Dr. Stone. She didn't want to dive full-on in just yet though.

When her new physical therapist arrived, she wasn't sure who to expect, but it certainly didn't expect Dick. She also wasn't expecting gymnastics. She thought that she was going to learn more fighting. Though she was frustrated she also made it clear that she didn't want Dick to go easy on her. He didn't the session were long and grueling and he wouldn't stop until she got it perfect. That was one thing the two of them had in common. They were both total perfectionists. About another two months into her training, Dick finally started work on combat stances. The whole time she never saw Bruce once. She also didn't ask about the work, not after the first couple of times, it seemed to be a sore spot for Dick. After that he said that she was ready for her next teacher.

Apparently Dr. Stone wanted to work with her even more than Luthor wanted them to work together. He sent his son Victor to talk to her. She was pretty sure he was flirting with her. However the athletic type wasn't really her thing, certainly not some football jock.

Her last trainer, finally arrived. She certainly wasn't expecting to see Lois Lane, Vague herself, there. Scorpionfly, The Stinger and now Vague. She knew what this meant. She was confused though. She hadn't seen or heard from Bruce this whole time. When she started to run into a wall in her training Lois pointed out how her mind was preoccupied with not having seen Bruce this whole time. First she denied it; she still had her pride. But she eventually admitted the truth to herself. Even then she tried to get Lois or Dick or Lucas to tell her what was going on with Bruce. Finally Lois confronted her and told her that if she wanted answers, she would have to talk to Bruce herself.

She took what felt like the longest drive of her life up to Wayne Manor. When she go out she took what felt like the longest walk of her life up to the front door. Seconds were stretched into minuets and then into hours.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So still no dialog. But I really just blanked on training-scene small-talk type stuff. The Next chapter has dialog, but it also get a bit non-linear for a spell.


	3. Birth of the Wild-Card

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The origins of the Wild-Card, as told from the protagonists perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter and the next three is a big flashback. You can think of this one and Chapter 5 as being framed by Barbara's drive up to Wayne Manor. I also put some more differences into this world. Here Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon have basically switched day-jobs. Oswald Cobblepot, a nemesis never had the penguin identity, and temporarily unseated Dent as police commissioner, and never ran for Mayor (a common-ish batman plot-line). Maybe this version of Gotham doesn't have a Mayor?

**Chapter 3: Birth of the Wild-Card**

_Bruce Wayne woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Alfred opened the door. He had been screaming again. It had been happening every night since it happened. He should never have let Barbara come out into the field that night. He should have known it was a trap. Whenever he had a moment of quiet and solitude he could hear the screams. When he closed his eyes he could see the blood and mangled flesh._

 

The Wild-Card had styled himself the Scorpion's nemesis. He was really just some psycho, with a fixation on the vigilante. However tonight the Scorpion was going to put an end to the reign of terror he'd brought to the city recently. They had tracked him to his base of operations. Well their Oracle had tracked him. Barbara was brilliant, and an expert with data-analysis. She was also an expert in programming, and never did tell the Pentagon about that back-door she found. A fact that that occasionally made Bruce unable to resist smirking whenever he had to deal with some overly uptight government official or military officer in his day-job.

The Wild-Card had been intentionally tainting the city's drug supply. Methamphetamine, heroine and crack-cocaine: all laced with a euphoric that could literally make someone die in a fit of laughter. He was targeting the city's homeless population for the tainted drugs. Because of this, the GPD had been uninterested in doing anything about the problem. The corrupt former police commissioner Cobblepot had tried to implement a similar scheme after framing Commissioner Dent for the two-face murders. Barbara had been the one to come to him and together they brought him down and cleared Harvey's name. Soon after that case she became a regular fixture in the Scorpion-Den.

“Another one?” DA Gordon asked, looking at the body in the morgue, well after hours. Something he'd been getting a bit to used to, he began to think to himself.

“Yes” Replied the Scorpion. “Drugs in his system, and tainted with the same compound as the others”

“This isn't your usual thing” Jim decided to probe. Wondering if the vigilante would divulge anything else or if this was part of something bigger and scarier, and thus his cue to step back. The last thing he wanted was for it to be aliens, or time travelers or ghosts or time traveling alien ghosts. Even the fact that he knew any of those were a thing annoyed the man a bit.

“My usual thing is where the police can't, or won't do anything” A somewhat stinging indictment of this city, and society in general. Of course the cops didn't want to do anything and even commissioner Dent couldn't make them take it seriously. He hated living in a world so broken they had to rely on vigilante and super-powered freaks to actually get the job done.

“True” Jim Gordon, answered in the only way he could. The Scorpion knew his closest and oldest ally in his mission wasn't part of the problem. But as long as this was a problem and as long as the police wouldn't take these sorts of things up, he would have to.

“They've been experimenting with the dosage” the masked man volunteered.

“Really” he inquired “who tipped you off?”

“A friend” the Scorpion responded with his usual vagueness.

“I hope your friend knows when things get too deep” the District Attorney replied in his _I know more than you think I do_ tone.

“They've handled worse” his mysterious friend re-assured him.

To pull off his operation, the Wild-Card had compiled detailed information on the drug dealers in the city, especially the less reputable. Oracle had learned about the list. However the Wild-Card kept in on a secure machine. The Scorpion had been able to get it out of one of the dealers that the Wild-Card was blackmailing many of them. They were all scared of him, and with good reason. He was a former member of the Royal Flush Gang, and the the only surviving member. He had killed every other member of the gang during a dispute and declared himself the “Wild-Card” after that. The crime families and gangs gave him wide breadth. He was dangerous, unstable and just smart enough to stay out of their grasp. Unfortunately, for both them and the rest of the city this allowed him to build a base of power and a cult-like following. During Cobblepot's tenure as police commissioner the situation only got worse, as his contempt for the poor citizens of the city drove many criminals from those areas into the Wild-Card's cadre, and away from the established organized crime. However Wild-Card didn't care for them any more than Cobblepot, and sent many to their deaths. All of this culminated over the summer.

The Wild-Card had taken a chemical plant hostage, and planted explosives all around it. He detonated them, horrifically killing everyone inside, including his own men, and televising the whole ordeal. Commissioner Dent organized a manhunt. DA Gordon offered a reward for anyone who would come forward. All the leads were dead ends. Even the Scorpion chased down three red herrings to dead ends on the Wild-Card case. He disappeared, and some wondered if he had left town or been crazy enough to end himself. None of these were true and during that November the first signs that he was still around surfaced. That's when the laughing deaths began. Eventually one of the bodies was found with a small plastic bag printed with the old Royal Flush logo. During that time the Scorpion had to deal with the Tarantula and the League of Assassins. Lucas Fox had joined the crusade with as Scropionfly during this time and took up the Wild-Card case. By December Oracle had managed to piece together Wild-Card's plan. The homeless were guinea-pigs, and with them the formula would be perfected. After that, they would lace softer drugs with it then vitamin supplements, ultimately food and even the water supply. The could kill over half the city over the next year if they weren't stopped. After the Scorpion got back from the Himalayas, he took up the case. It had to take priority.

During her time with the Scorpion, Oracle had dealt with magic, aliens and even traveled to a parallel universe when the other Supremo came over and dealt with their Supremo (who the big cheese-ball called Meano-Supremo) and took a literally mind-bending trip into “concept space”. The Scorpion really didn't think there was anything she couldn't be prepared for. Though he didn't always show it, he had complete faith in her abilities. She really was the most important member of his team. Unfortunately Wild-Card had realized that too.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter will offer a different perspective on these events.


	4. From the Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beginning a little before and covering the same events of the last chapter, but this time from the antagonists POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to continue my role-flipping theme, and have this universe Joker (Wild-Card) be the one that's being manipulated by Harley Quinn (who won't go by that name).

**Chapter 4: From the Other Side**

_Fuck! She was probably going to live! He needed to kill the bitch! Then the Scorpion would see him for what he is. His true rival! He would make that vigilante know true suffering, real loss. How cleaver would he be once the brains of his operation was taken away from him? At least she'd never be behind another keyboard again._

 

Dr. Quinzel was right. He felt so much better after he showed the rest of the Royal Flush Gang who's boss. He's far too smart to be wrapped up with the likes of them. Organizing a gang like a deck of cards. His skills can trump them all. He's too much of a wild card to be wrapped-up with stiffs like them. That's what he could call himself now: the Wild-Card.

“I actually did it!” he said shaking, still with the blood on him “I showed them!”

“What did you do?” she asked is a prying, but knowing tone.

“I” he hesitated, for just a moment afraid of what he had done and afraid of making it real by saying it aloud “I killed them”

“All of them?” the doctor asked, needing to be sure.

“Yes all of them”  he said re-assuring her, and beginning to chuckle “It's finally over” he laughed with relief “The Royal Flush Gang is dead”

“The Royal flush Gang is dead!” Harley exclaimed, finally unable to contain her excitement.

He actually showed up on her doorstep covered in blood after it happened. He had killed them all in a rampage. It was kind of funny in a way. The fact that he started laughing hysterically after he came in didn't help. By the end of it they were both laughing hysterically. They were in this together now.

Months later he was on top of the world. He had his own crew. They were loyal to him. They looked up to him. They loved him. It felt good to be loved. That dick police commissioner and impotent city government were stirring the people up and he was the one offering them what they wanted. No! He was offering them what they needed! They needed him. Even the crime families and other gangs couldn't touch him. Soon he would be running this city.

For the doctor though, it was all a house of cards and she knew it. Yes the crime families and gangs feared him, but that's why it couldn't last. They would only tolerate so much of his instability and his encroachment onto their territory. He was too confident, and took too much pleasure in antagonizing them. He needed a new target. Someone to direct his energy toward. The Scorpion! That vigilante had evolved from urban-legend to bogeyman to something of a folk hero. He was just the sort of person who could be a problem later down the road and also a good distraction for her Wild-Card.

“You know this scorpion fellow is quite an obstacle” she decided to tell him one fateful day.

“Apparently he's just a man” the Wild-Card replied confidently.

“Yes, apparently he is” the Crime Doctor replied, leading him to his new target.

“What about him?” her subject asked, seemingly eager for the bait.

“Well” she said, a bit hesitantly “in a way he's like your opposite.”

“How so?” he asked, now intrigued by this idea.

“Well in a lot of ways...” she continued.  Now knowing she would have both of them where she wanted them.

Why didn't he see? He thought.  How could he not realize we're two sides of the same coin? How does he not see we're cut from the same cloth? I'm his opposite he reasoned. I'm the yin to his yang. I'm the chocolate to his vanilla. I'm the Lucile Ball to his Desi Arnez. He's nothing without me, and I'll show him. It will be a surprise! Doc will be so happy with me! I think I'm having another breakthrough!

God! How could he be so fucking stupid? She thought.  There were dozens of people in that factory! There were our own men in there! And then dissolving them in acid on live television! They'll have every cop in the city after them! They'll be lucky if they don't have the feds after them or worse! She'd have to put that idiot in his cage until she could figure something out.

No! Not the quiet room! He thought as he panicked.  She was going to put him into the quiet room. He didn't want to go to the quiet room! He knew he'd been bad. He didn't want the men to see him like this! He'd be good! It's so dark in there.

She finally had a new hook. The whole gang was all but hers now. Pamela had developed a new toxin. They of course would need test subjects. Fortunately the city had an ample homeless population. They would also need a scapegoat, in case this all went south. Fortunately it was just about time to let him out of his cage. Best of all, she also had a plan to take care of the Scorpion too. She'd figured out that he has support, an Oracle of information. She just needed to lure this person out and sick her Wild-Card on them.

For the Wild-Card it was so nice to be out. He'd learned his lesson. He should always discuss his plans with his doctor. She only wants what's best for him. What was Pamela doing here? He didn't like Pamela.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter follows this, from our protagonists POV once more. Bringing events full-circle to just before the opening chapter. It will be graphic, so be warned.


	5. Her Darkest Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events that lead directly to Earth 41 Barbara Gordon becoming the Claw. How the Wild-Card destroyed her arms. Probably the most graphic part of the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and Chapter 3 can be thought of as a flashback of Barbara remembering the events as she drives to Wayne Manor to see Bruce. Also of note, in this version of the Royal Flush Gang, they are an international criminal organization, with each "house" controlling the crime in a different part of the world. The Wild-Card's killing of the gang was actually a pretty significant event in this world as it destabilized the balance of power between criminal organizations around the world.

**Chapter 5: Her Darkest Hour**

She would need to be in the building and to get her hands on the machine itself. With the data on it, they could break-up the heroine, meth and crack rings throughout the city all at once. She also knew it was a trap. The Wild-Card had managed to stay hidden for months and just recently surfaced. They were trying to lure the Scorpion to the center of their operation. Fortunately tonight he would have a secret weapon. Barbara Gordon, the Oracle.

She had gotten self-defense training from Bruce and Dick. She wasn't a fighter like them, but she should at least be able to hold of a thug or two long enough to lift the data off of the machine. Well provided both of them weighed less than a combined 250 pounds. They had gotten one of the laptops used by the old Royal Flush Gang, and while it didn't have anything especially useful for them, they did learn how they worked. They had a custom operating system. The hard-drive was completely encrypted, and could only be decrypted with a thumb-drive with the other half of the operating system on it and a special code tied to the specific machine. They'd recently gotten a lead that took them to the former house of the Queen of Hearts, the brains behind the UK branch of the gang. In her house they found a “master key” thumb-drive, that should be able to grant them access to the laptop the Wild-Card is using. She'd been in the field before. Heck she'd been off planet. Besides it was all going to be finger-work and Bruce could handle whatever the Wild-Card could throw at him.

Things went smoothly, well about as smoothly as any of their nights together did. But she got to the machine. Used the master key, hooked up the transmitter and...

 

… wait, this was wrong. There wasn't anything they were looking for on here. She felt a wave of absolute terror wash over her body. She felt her stomach drop through her legs. It wasn't a trap for the Scorpion. It was a trap for the Oracle.

WHAM! An aluminum baseball bat slammed down on her hands!

“You shouldn't touch other people's things!” Screamed Wild-Card.

CRUNCH! She was hit again on her side and went down like a sack of potatoes.

“So you're the Scorpion's tech support” he stated.

SMASH! She was still holding onto the laptop when she collapsed, and the Wild-Card smashed it along with what was left of her hands. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! The bat hammered away at her arms.

“Let's see how much help you are to him now!” he yelled.

“Please stop! Just stop!” Someone screamed. Just before Barbara realized it was her. She was screaming. Oh god! Was she going to die?

CRACK! That was bone. She heard it. She felt it. She saw it. Why was there so much red? Was she still screaming? Was that Bruce screaming? Was that Dick screaming? Was that a ripping noise? That's strange. God, I can't see though all my tears. I'm really dizzy...

 

The next thing she remembered was waking up in the hospital. She couldn't feel her arms. She couldn't move her neck because it was in a brace. That was probably for the best. The next day when she could move her neck, and saw that the reason she couldn't feel her arms was because they were gone, she probably screamed loud enough to be heard in Metropolis. She kept screaming until the nurses sedated her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be taking place during Chapter 1, focusing on those events and the thoughts of other characters involved. The story will return to being pretty linear after that.


	6. In Their Thoughts and Prayers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The perspectives of many of the secondary characters about this terrible event.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we finally see why Bruce Wayne never came by. We also get a glimpse at what other characters are thinking. Lastly we get introduced to someone new. Also maybe some implied Jim Gordon/Alfred Pennyworth.

**Chapter 6: In Their Thoughts and Prayers**

For twenty years the worst memory Bruce Wayne had was of seeing his parents getting gunned down as they left the theater that night. That all changed the day he went to visit Barbara in the hospital. As he got there he saw it. She was there. Well part of her. She looked surreal. She was flailing and screaming. The nurses were trying to hold her down. A doctor came and sedated her. The rest gets fuzzy from there. He remembers vomiting in the bathroom. Once in the sink and once in the toilet. He remembers Alfred driving him home. He remembers it was one of the few times the man didn't have some witty quip for the situation.

 

James Gordon knew. James always knew. Heck he knew even before Barbara did. On some level he probably knew that she'd get wrapped-up in all of it before it even happened. He had known Bruce since he was a kid. He was there when he took in the orphaned circus-boy Dick. And he was even there that first night he went out in that ridiculous costume with that silly robot tail. He wanted to blame Alfred, he was always telling Bruce to take care of things himself. Alfred wanted to blame him. James was always there telling Bruce to take a stand on the side of justice. Right now more than anything in the whole world he wanted to blame Bruce Wane. But he couldn't. He'd raised his daughter with the same values in a city with untrustworthy cops and leadership and in a word that's getting stranger by the day. Barbara getting involved was inevitable. This was his fault. That night when Bruce pulled off that mask, he wanted more than anything to see a reckless vigilante taking the law into his own hands. But all he could see was that little boy standing in the rain who had just seen his parents get gunned down.

 

For Dick it had always been fun it it's own way. It stopped being fun. Even as mad as he'd been at Zuco for his parents death, he never really wanted to kill him. Not like he wanted to kill the Wild-Card. He didn't know who he was anymore. He didn't know what he was doing anymore. The problem wasn't restraint. The problem was that he had never really wanted to kill before. He had never really wanted to see someone suffer before. Now he did. He knew that should make him feel wrong inside. The worst part was that it didn't.

 

Five years ago Bruce Wayne had told Lois Lane that he wasn't really a team player. Five years ago she'd told him he was still looking for a family he'd lost and wouldn't get back. They were both wrong on both counts. When he'd picked up the second stray, and this one some homebody techie, she thought it was the worst idea ever, for a grand total of five minutes. Barbara Gordon was possibly the most intelligent person on this planet. She had a cool head that could handle all the weirdness this world could throw at her. She could even handle all the weirdness whole other worlds could throw at her. So when she heard what happened, she was shocked, she was devastated. She would help Bruce track down Wild-Card. The first day on the case her instincts told her something wasn't right. There was something else to this whole Wild-Card situation no one was seeing.

 

Lex Luthor was probably the most intelligent man on the planet. He knew this. He also knew that he was probably the second most intelligent person on the planet, with that title going to Barbara Gordon, or as her real friends knew her, Oracle. For a whole half-second he thought of confronting that smug Bruce Wayne in his office about ruining that young woman's life and even had the whole monologue planned out. But no. She'd already done too much good. Without her the world would still be trembling under the power of Supremo. Mind you there was a whole other universe out there with it's own Supremo, and that was a problem, but at least that one seemed much less unhinged. She'd handled aliens and magic and meta-humans. At the end of the day this was the reminder that with all the fantastical dangers in the world, it was people who could be the real monsters.

 

Tim Drake knew. Tim Drake had been there the night the Graysons were murdered. Tim Drake had followed Dick Grayson. Tim Drake had tracked the Scorpion, and later Stinger. Tim Drake knew about the Oracle. Tim Drake has also been afraid. Afraid he was being watched. Afraid that the Scorpion wouldn't believe him. Afraid that on some level, even though none of them knew him, that this was his fault for not contacting someone first.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now we have Earth 41 Tim Drake. He didn't have it as good as the Tim Drake of most other continuities. But we'll get more of him soon.


	7. The Oracle Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara and Bruce finally talk. Also the Scorpion Den and the Claws.

**Chapter 7: The Oracle Returns**

Barbara rang the doorbell. Alfred answered and greeted her warmly. She had forgotten just how empty this big place could feel when no one else was around. She went to the library where Bruce was.

After a few awkward moments of silence “Why didn't you come?” she finally asked.

“I didn't think you would want to see me” was Bruce's answer.

“Why would you say that?” Barbara replied, her eyes beginning to water.

“Because” he replied softly “all of this was my fault” unable to turn around.

“How can you think that?” she asked, frustrated and indignant at that man.

“Because” has said, finally turning around to look her in the eye “I let you walk right into a trap and I didn't even see it” trying not to choke on his own feeling of guilt.

“No” Barbara responded curtly “It was for me. I should have seen the trap coming.”

“Barbara...” was all Bruce could get out.

“Oh Bruce I missed you so much!” she said as she hugged him tightly.

They stood there crying for who knows how long. Finally Barbara asked:

“What was with the training?” she finally felt that she had to ask.

“It actually wasn't my idea” he explained.

“Really?” Barbara inquired.

“Lois, she though that you should be able to handle yourself out in the field” Bruce explained “In fact she said I probably should have started you training on that from the beginning.”

“It's good to be back” she said with a bit of a sight, and smiling a bit for the first time in a while.

“Come with me” he offered as he motioned to the grandfather clock entrance “I have something to show you”

They descended the staircase though down to the cavern the Den was built into. There were the suits for The Scorpion, The Stinger and The Scorpionfly. There was the Oraculum, the computer system she helped build and design. There were the Scorpion-themed vehicles. There was the robotic (and inaccurate) Spinosaurus and the giant Nickel. There was the giant Queen of Hearts card, from one of the last cases with the Royal Flush Gang. Further in there were the smaller mementos. Dr. Inferno's flame thrower. One of the Scorpion-Bots from the OMAC incident. A mask from the Court of Owls. The place was like a museum. Past all of those thing, on a dais were a pair of robotic claws. The engineering was exquisite. They were built to her proportions.

“They're for you” Bruce offered “If you want them”

“Oh my god” Barbara exclaimed “Yes, of course I do”

“There's more” he explained.

Laid out on the table was a custom-built suit, designed to work with the claws. Turning to the Oraculum, Bruce asked it to display the case files.

“It has a voice interface now” he said “In case you're down here without your hands” a bit more softly.  
The screen brought up familiar images of case files and photographs and stills of the Wild-Card, but more prominently were pictures of a blond woman.

“Who's that?” Barbara asked.

“She's doctor Harley Quinzel, a psychologist and the real brains behind the Wild-Card operation” Bruce explained.

 

 


	8. The Oracle is Dead, Long Live the Oracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earth 41 Barbara Gordon meets Earth 41 Tim Drake. Stinger and Scorpionfly have some new info.

**Chapter 8: The Oracle is Dead, Long Live the Oracle.  
**

_Barbara spent a whole week poring over the information on this “Doc” Quinzel. Tim was thorough. Tim was good.  Given enough time he might get to be as good as she was.  
_

 

“I have someone I'd like you to meet” said Bruce.

“Really?” said Barbara, wondering who else was joining their mission.

A lanky dark haired young man, who had to still be in high-school shyly stepped out. He timidly extended his hand to Brabra's.

“Barbara” Bruce said “This is Tim Drake”

“It's a real pleasure to finally meet the Oracle in meatspace” he exclaimed, the words seeming to almost all come out of his mouth at once.

“It's nice to meet you too” Brabra replied, feeling self assured that in a rare occasion, she got to be the smooth one. “But I don't think I'm going to be the Oracle anymore”

“Really?” Tim asked, with obvious disappointment in his eyes.

“Yeah” she said “I think I'm going to be The Claw”

“Wait” he said with growing realization “you're going to be back out in the field” motioning to the robotic claws “with those”

“I've been training” she retorted smugly.

“Not to cut this short” interjected Bruce “but I brought you here to brief us on what you have”

“Right” Tim corrected himself “Sorry, I should get you caught up before everyone arrives” he apologized, and pulled up the information on the Oraculum “Apparently one Jack Napier, a known criminal with suspected ties to the Royal Flush Gang had been a patient of hers at the Arkham Mental Hospital. That wasn't the interesting part though! She had several unpublished psychology papers, considered fringe by most, on using psychotherapy techniques to control behavior. She believed that with the right techniques you could reduce, or even incite violent and even psychotic behavior in a subject. In one of her last papers she suggested that it would be possible to achieve a state of total control over a subject. Aside from being highly unorthodox, there was no way what she was suggesting could be considered ethical by any psychological establishment.” they young man rambled on, making Barbara wonder if she ever sounded like that.  “She left her job shortly after the Royal Flush Gang was murdered. Then she went off the grid. But not before erasing all of Jack Napier's files from Arkham and the GPD.” Tim explained, showing the supposed-to-be erased files “That's not the biggest connection though. In college, she used to date one Pamela Ivesley, who had PhDs in botany and chemistry. A year ago Dr Ivesley was involved in failed drug trials for Tyler Chemical. According to internal documents, they were discontinued for suspiciously similar side-effects to the toxin the city's drug supply is being laced with.” he explained bringing up a photo and background information of a red-headed young woman in a lab-coat.

“That's impressive” Barbara responded “Should I ask how you got a hold of information that's supposed to have been removed form official records or the internal documents of Tyler Chemical?” she retorted in a playfully accusatory tone.

“I followed your lead” Tim blurted out.

“Wait” she retorted “Have you been stalking me?” she asked giving him the side-eye.

“Kind of. I mean no. I mean it wasn't stalking” he stammered “I don't even know it was you, well not at first. Definitely not for sure until you wound up in the hospital”

“What gave it away” she finally asked, having to know how her activity was tracked.

“The traffic coming in and out of Waynecorp's servers” he replied plainly.

“See Bruce” she directed at their silent leader, in her _I told so_ tone of voice “I told you to rent server space and get us some shell-companies”

“Lesson learned” Bruce sighed, having already gotten this scolding form Tim himself earlier.

“It's cool” Tim replied, with the first bit of confidence he had shown that evening “I've already re-routed the Oraculum though new VPNs and created an algorithm to generate false traffic to throw off anyone else”

“So I suppose Captain Boundary Issues is joining our little team” Barbara suggested with a wry smile.

“Alfred already makes his favorite food” Bruce said, almost with a sense of satisfaction.

“Well now it's official” she asked “How do the others feel?”

“How do we feel about what Babs?” inquired Dick, still in his stinger outfit.

“I knew my ears were burning” quipped Lucas immediately after him.

“The new stray” Barbara replied pointing to Tim with her thumb.

“Aw” pouted Tim “c'mon Babs, isn't he cute” he said, grabbing Tim and holding his face.

“Yeah” exclaimed Lucas “just look at the little guy” as he lifted Tim's thin frame and picking him up “he's like travel size” he concluded lifting him above his head with one hand.

“Hey put me down!” protested Tim.  having had more than enough horse-play from the other two guys.

“So what the are we going to call the guy?” Dick asked.

“Well someone has to be Oracle now” Barbara stated plainly.

“But you're going to be in the field” Lucas responded.

“Yes” Barbara stated “And the Oracle isn't in the field” she explained “I mean we can't have anyone else keeping tabs on us figure this stuff out”

“So while we were out, we managed to get something interesting out of one of Wildcard's henchmen” explained Dick.

“He mentioned that this Doc character was now directly calling the shots” continued Lucas.

“Apparently she's a real character” Dick explained.

“So at first everyone though she was Wild-Card's girlfriend” Lucas clarified.

“But then the chemical plant incident went down” said Dick in turn.

“And that's when everyone realized she was really calling the shots” concluded Lucas.

“And they're now even more scared of her” finished Dick, bringing Dr. Quinzel's picture back up on the Oraculum.


	9. The Night of the Claw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earth 41 Barbara Gordon goes up against Wild Cards henchmen for the first time to get the lead they need to take him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the opener, I am assuming a Lonnie Machen closer to the "New Earth" age of the comics, being a political anarchist and has something of a friendship with Tim Drake. Seeing Earth 41 as something of a "crapsack world" he's already suffered injuries that paralyzed him. Due to being on the wrong side of the law, Tim and his friends care for Lonnie in a basement.

**Chapter 9: The Night of the Claw**

_Stephanie told him he needed to visit Lonnie. He knew he had been preoccupied lately, with all of this Scorpion and Oracle stuff. But that had been a bust. He had arranged a meeting and the Scorpion never showed. Maybe he shouldn't have tipped his hand. What was important now was the he checked-up on Lonnie. As he headed down into the basement that had been converted into Lonnie's room he felt something off. As he reached the bottom of the stairs he saw someone there with Lonnie. Oh god! Lonnie was helpless._

_“Hello Tim” said the figure standing in the shadows “I'm Bruce Wayne” he continued as he stepped into view “But you knew that already”_

 

“Are you sure we can trust this guy?” Dick Grayson asked.

“Jason's a good guy” Tim defended.

“He was in Iron Heights for murder” retorted Dick.

“He shot a nazi” quipped Tim “and we need someone with a record” he explained.

“So are all your friends crazy?” questioned Lucas.

“No!” snapped Tim defensibly.

“Mmm, hmm” both Dick & Lucas responded sarcastically.

“How did you stand these guys Bar-um, Claw?” Tim asked, correcting himself over their channel.

“Thees guys?” “Oh, I can't stand either of their smart-asses”

“Is this what it's like every night?” Tim asked Alfred, after turning off the coms.

“Oh not every night mister Drake” he answered “just most” he concluded with his usual sass.

“How does Bruce manage?” inquired Tim.

“Oh I just presume master Bruce simply chooses to ignore them” answered Alfred, with a slight eye-roll.

“God” said Tim rubbing his forehead “I thought my family was dysfunctional” finally going into full face-palm.

The new Oracle's friend, Jason Todd had infiltrated the Wild-Card's gang for them. After spending weeks earning their trust, he was finally able to deliver a good lead to the team. One of the higher-ups was going to be receiving a shipment. Jason was going to be with them. He was able to give them the drop-off location and had a tracker on himself.

Two of the thugs went down from darts from stinger.

Scropionfly took out another two coming in from the skylight.

It was the Claw's turn. Her claws extended and took out two of the men, before retracting. Several of the gangsters headed her direction. For about a minuet she was holding two of them off at a time. She did a back-flip keeping herself from being surrounded. Then, with a mechanical whirring her artificial arms separated. Now she had a pair of claw-arms and a set of more conventional arms. All of her training had prepared her for this. Bruce had devoted a number of one-on-one sessions to her. Getting her used to the new limbs that would be a part of her body while she was out in the field. She held of four of the attackers at once, countering their moves with mechanical super-human effectiveness.

Dick and Lucas were holding their own as well. Lucas' aerial position kept him out of the fray. Dick's acrobatics made him impossible to hold onto. Sure enough the leader attempted to make his break for it. Running out of the warehouse and down an alleyway he came face-to-face with the Scorpion himself. He quickly turned around and attempted to make a run for it. He heard gunshots coming from the warehouse. He made it thought the alleyway and across the street. As he ran into the next alley he saw it dead-ended into a corner. Making the turn, he saw the Scorpion, there waiting for him. He tried to fire at the vigilante. The masked man evaded his shots, ducked, and then something shot out of his scorpion tail. Everything went black after that.

“Where is the Doctor?” questioned a mechanical sounding voice.

“What are you talking about man?” the man asked, coming back into consciousness.

“The brains” came another voice,that sounded a bit more female, maybe “where is she?” it insisted.

“I don't know what you're talking about” he said, from a strange middle ground of pleading and defiance. Realizing he was restrained on some kind of table.

“Wrong answer” came the first voice, and he felt his hands being crushed in something metal. That was when he realized what was going on.

“Aaaaaa!” he yelled out into the dark room “Fuck! What's wrong with you people?” he snapped. Unable to focus with the bright light in his eyes.

“Shitbags like you” responded the second voice.

“Now tell us what we want to know of it gets worse” demanded the first voice.

“Fuck you!” the henchman exclaimed defiantly “Let this bitch crush my hands”

“Oh that's not what he means” said a third voice, sounding, maybe amused.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, now actually beginning to be frightened.

“Scorpions aren't just a costume there around here” said the second voice with what sounded like amusement and self-satisfaction, as a large black, twitching live scorpion was held over him.

“You wouldn't!” the restrained man protested.

“Oh really?” said the first voice as he placed the scorpion on the man's chest.

“I'd be very still if I were you” said the third voice.

“Yeah” said the second “they get spooked easily”

“And they're very poisonous” continued the first.

“You wouldn't!” their captive protested “You don't!”

“You sure about that?” said the second voice.

After a couple of minuets of crawling and a few more scorpions later...

“Please” he finally begged, now drenched in sweat “Okay! I'll tell you what you want to know. Just get them off of me”

“Dish first” demanded the third voice.

“It's the housing project” the man confessed hesitantly.

“What is?” asked the second voice.

“The headquarters” he explained. “She owns a housing project, that she runs the operation out of” he elaborated, as the removed one of the scorpions “The gang has the top thee floors” he continued “Some of us live there and there are offices and everything” he explained, as a second scorpion was delicately picked up “Jackson street between September and August Avenue” he concluded as the last scorpion was removed with the care one would give to a child.

“See that wasn't so bad” someone said. Then everything went black again.

“Are those actually poisonous?” Tim asked once the man was unconscious.

“Oh god” said Barbara “not at all”

“I mean they hurt” said Dick, with the assurance of first hand experience.

“But you won't die” Barbara finished.

“Records confirm the property was purchased in the last couple of years” explained Tim “and it looks like there was extensive remodeling done afterwards”

“What happened to the previous owner?” Barbara asked.

“Looks like he was gunned down in an attempted robbery” Tim said as he pulled up the records.

“Convenient” quipped Bruce sarcastically.

“Yeah” Dick responded.

“What about the companies that did the remodeling?” Barbara inquired.

“It looks like a different company for each floor” Tim explained, as he went back and for the over different documents and records “Two of the foremen are dead under similarly convenient examples of random violence”

“And the third?” Bruce asked.

“Moved to Star City” Tim stated, happy to have their first good lead.

“Looks like it's time to call our favorite cop” Dick offered wryly.

“Wait” Tim blurted out with excitement “you don't mean?” knowing what this implied, but still not ready to process what he was getting wrapped up in.

“this one's a job for **Dino Cop** ” Barbara stated with confidence, and greatly amused with herself to see the excitement she was stirring up in the young man.

“Okay I have to ask” Tim said almost shaking.

“What?” Dick asked, leading on.

“Is he actually a dinosaur?” Tim asked, probably more with his hands and grand waving arm-gestures “Like a genetic hybrid or something” now standing up and half pacing the scorpion den.

“Goodness no” laughed Barbara.

“Yeah, he's an alien” Dick explained, as though he was describing hair color, or something else perfectly normal.

“Am I going to meet an alien!?” word-vomitted Tim, now trying desperately not to just jump up and down.

“Only if you're good” quipped Bruce, almost pleased with himself, and bemused with his growing family.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even with Tim having a very anti-authority circle of anarchists friends, the thought of meeting Dino Cop is still really cool. I mean a freaking dinosaur! No an alien! I mean is he an alien dinosaur!? 
> 
> Also, this version of reality may or may not still have a Richard Spencer, or whatever his stand-in would be.


	10. Claw and Dino Cop Team-Up Spectacular!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star City is totally not Portland. Also everything happens in this one coffee shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why I am putting in Earth 41 Ragman / Earth 41 Oracle flirting.

_“You know I should probably fill her in on what we do here” Dino Cop explained to President Superman._

_“Perhaps” responded the world-leader and inter-dimensional hero “When she is ready”_

_“I know I'd like to meet her” interjected Aquawoman._

_“It'll have to wait” said Captain Carrot “the Prime Earth is on the fritz, again” rolling his eyes._

 

Star City was everything that Gotham was not. Hip, clean, modern and hosting a police department that had integrated meta-humans. Chief among these was the famous Dino Cop. Originally believed to be some kind of genetic experiment, it was ultimately discovered he was an extraterrestrial. Everyone assumed that having metas like him on the police force kept them out of vigilante activities and and the stranger business they tended to get into. Which of course meant that none of them knew about the _**HALL OF HEROS**_ at the center of the multiverse, or that timeline where everything went to shit and he killed Despero, and took back the third eye. Needless to say, when he saw that Barbara Gordon could take all of this in stride, he considered filling her in on this. Especially if she was considering following in her father's footsteps. Then she went and got involved in that scorpion nonsense, and got herself almost killed. She was too good of a kid for all of this. Speaking of kids, there that latest recruit she was bringing.

Tim was wide-eyed at everything in the city. You'd think the boy had never seen a greenbelt or clean streets...

… oh yeah. He grew up in Gotham too. The city more industrial than Detroit and more corrupt than Chicago. She thought his little head might explode from the trip to the bookstore. The cashier was good natured, and confirmed that the “Star City University Queer Metas of Color” was a real organization, with real live meta-humans, and that were in fact going to be hosting “Gender & Earth: a Experiences of Extraterrestrial Immigrants of All Sexes” and they both thought he would faint when she mentioned Felicity Smoke was a regular. Eventually Barbara drug him out thanking Thea for her patience.

“Wait!” Tim said as Barbara practiacally pushed him out of the door “was that Thea Queen?”

“Yes” Barbara replied plainly.

“And you let me make a fool of myself in front of her” complained Tim

“Like I could have stopped you” she quipped in return.

“Y'know” said Tim “I think Alfred is a bad influence on you”

They met with John & John in a local coffee shop. Tim was unsure about working with actual law enforcement, but Barbara assured him the meta-squad was different. While the space-dinosaur and cyborg caught up, John bought Tim some coffee. Tim didn't like cops. Tim didn't like the dinosuar's partner.

“Why don't you call me Digg” John Diggle offered, after attempts at small-talk fell flat.

“Is this you trying to get me to you-know” Tim replied “open up to you” with copious amounts of snark.

“Kind of” John offered “I kind of got tossed into all of this craziness” he explained in an attempt at a personable tone.

“And you know about what we do” Tim inquired with ample suspicion.

“Yeah I do” officer Diggle stated matter-of-factly.

“And I can trust you and the rest of your squad” Tim asked, still in a suspicions tone.

“Oh I know what this is” Digg responded nonchalantly “I'm a cop, so I can't possibly be cool with all of this vigilante stuff” he stated motioning broadly “what could a normal guy like me know?” he asked leaning in.

“Well yeah” Tim said, no a bit taken aback.

“Look at the guy playing on stage” Digg said after a moment “now look at the other guy just like him in the audience” pointing out the tow identical people.

“So there twins” Tim explained, slightly confused.

“Look again” Digg said in a more serious tone of voice.

“No” Tim said wanting to deny the realization. There was something different about the guy on the stage. There was something out of place. He was dressed in a sort of retro 60's look, but that wasn't it. The colors were too bright, but still kind of washed-out. They blended together in the wrong kind of ways. There was a surreal quality to his movements as he focused on them. The music he played had a similar surreal quality. The notes seemed somehow off, but they weren't discordant. Like they weren't out of sync with each-other, but who and what was playing them were out of sync with everything else.

“Yes” Digg said, knowing the realization that was hitting the boy “The musician is from Earth 47” he explained “You see the girl offering card-reading in the corner” as he pointed to an eccentrically dressed woman of indeterminate age.

“What about her” Tim said not wanting to know the answer, he knew was coming.

“They're never wrong” Digg said knowingly, remembering that case where she was the one to save his partner's life.

“You're kidding” he said knowing the implication. Actual magic was not something he wanted to dive into. He'd made his way into some of their groups on the darknet, and that stuff was weird and freaky. Like more-so than regular weirdness. An actual psychic sitting just a few yards from him was a bit much.

“I work with a dinosaur, a woman who can level building with her scream and a guy with magic mummy-rags” Digg replied self-assuredly “It's all real” he explained

“You want to see the photo of my two moth old when he's twenty?” the officer offered as he reached for his wallet.

“So what are you trying to do” Tim asked, still suspicious of the man's motives.

“Figure out if you can really handle all of this man” Digg offered “it only get weirder from here on out” he explained, with a tinge of regret “once you open that door it never closes” he concluded.

“I mean I kind of have to do this” Tim explained.

“Everyone thinks that” Digg said “but it's not true” he said, speaking form experience.

“No” Tim said “I do” he stated as he sat-up a bit straighter “You see her arms?” he pointed toward Barbara.

“Yeah” Digg replied, now regretting the nerve he might have hit.

“That's my fault” Tim explained, with a bit of a sigh.

“Man” officer Diggle replied “that is not your fault” knowing the details of the attack.  It wasn't like this boy had been involved then.

“Not completely” Tim stated “but it is” he explained “I knew things, and didn't come to the people who could do something because I didn't want to get involved”

“So now you think you have to be involved?” Digg asked, still worried that this boy might be in over his head.  He seemed so out of his element.

“I don't think” said Tim “I know” he stated in a somewhat hollow tone of voice “I” he hesitated for a moment “I think I've always known”

“But you don't have to” Digg still thinking this all might be too much for him.

“But someone has to” Tim said, now a bit more confidently.

“Does that someone have to be you?” Digg wondered out loud, almost as much to himself as to the boy in front of him.

“There wasn't anyone else” he said guiltily, thinking of Lonnie.  Lonnie wouldn't have hesitated to get involved.

“So what do you do?” Digg asked now a bit more casual.

“Tech support” Tim stated plainly.

“Okay, but what's your” thinking he had gotten the kid's day job “extra-curricular activity” Digg pressed.

“Also tech support” responded Tim “Someone has to handle comms” he explained “analyze data” he continued, now a bit more animated “troubleshoot”

“So why come here” Digg felt he had to ask.

“Barbara's idea” Tim explained.

“Have you been out of Gotham before?” Digg asked, with a bit of realization.

“Yes” Tim stammered “well kind of” he back-tracked “a few times” he explained “just to visit family” realizing that wasn't what Digg meant and that it really didn't count here.

“So no” Digg stated, like someone who had won an augment “and you didn't grow up on what passes for the right side of the track in Gotham” he deduced, probably a bit too quickly for Tim's liking “and that's why you're not too fond of working with cops”

“Among various things” Tim saltaly replied, again thinking of Lonnie.

“Don't worry” Digg said “we've got your back” warmly placing his hand on the boy's bony shoulder “You'll meet the rest of the squad tomorrow” he offered, as though he was introducing him to his relatives.

“The official briefing” Tim asked “and your police chief is cool?” he felt he had to ask.  All of this was just too weird.

“Oh Chief Lance is great with it” Digg almost laughed “I mean squad captain is his daughter”

In the briefing he was masked, and Barbara was in full gear. Officer Holt explained that his T-Spheres were monitoring the target. Tim really wanted to get himself one of those. They were autonomous self-powered communications nodes. Captain Lance already had a working profile on the subject. Tim was actually impressed. This was a lot more by-the-book than he was used to or even liked, but they were not in Gotham anymore. With their local contacts they had determined that the Wild-Card (or really the Crime Doctor) was tracking him down as well.

“Remember” said captain Lance “we need the target alive and in one piece”

“He has important information on the Wild-Card” carried Dino Cop “with this, the Scorpion can take down the whole operation”

“I will meet with him” the Claw explained.

“And if he won't cooperate?” Ragman asked.  Knowing that some of these cases got a little strange when things went south.

“Then we can take him in” the Claw stated.

“There's enough here to list him as a person of interest” Explained captain Lance “and the Gotham DA has signed off”

“Also we can offer special protection” explained Dino Cop “I've made arrangements” in his _don't ask me about the details_ tone of voice that meant this involved a level of weirdness above the usual.

The briefing concluded.  Everyone made introductions.  Tim was awkward the whole time.

“So you seem a bit young to be involved in all of this” Ragman offered.

“So do you” Oracle responded “did you graduate the academy right out of highschool?”

“No” officer Regan said “They drafted me for my powers” he sighed “the City thinks it's the better alternative to vigilante justice”

“And what do you think?” Tim asked.

“I don't know” Rory stated “but I have this gift and I can't let it go to waste”

“So what do they do?” the Oracle inquired, curious.

“I can control them just by thinking and they are indestructible” he explained.

“Very cool” Tim responded smiling.

“They are” Rory offered.

 


	11. The Lead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where we see that the foreman, is in fact this world version of a slightly more familiar character.

_Dudley wasn't a brave man. He wasn't an especially good man either. These people had threatened him and his family. So he ran. He kept quiet. Now he was backed into a corner. He was there in the interrogation office. He knew exactly what they wanted. He knew they would make him offers. He knew they wouldn't be any good._

 

It was a quiet night. Work had been hard, but quite was good. Quiet was what he came to this town for. Also to get away from his last clients. They were dangerous people. He'd worked with gangsters and criminals before. But these weren't like the rest. They were almost more like a cult, and the guy at the top was off his rocker. The last two guys who had taken jobs from them had met with bad ends, he wasn't going to be the third.

He headed into the kitchen to get himself something to eat. After he pulled some leftovers out of the fridge he turned around and...

Oh Shit! Standing right in front of him was a masked intruder. The person was covered in a head-to-toe black suit, and had what looked like mechanical claws in the place of hands. In that split second he realized it reminded him of that masked vigilante that was back in Gotham. Oh shit!

“Hello mister Dudley” the intruder said in a mechanical sounding voice.

“Who the fuck are you!?” he asked.

“Someone who wants to ask you some questions” the vigilante explained.

“Why me?” mister Dudley asked, more to try to stall than anything.  This vigilante knew.  And he knew playing dumb would only get him so far.

“Tenement building” the intruder stated plainly “Jackson Street, Gotham”

The older man quickly turned and ran out of the kitchen. The masked intruder beat him to the living room, somehow.

“You should cooperate” said the Claw “I've already contacted the authorities”

“Not a chance” mister Dudley replied “I got away from all of that stuff” He ran down the hallway to the back door, but stopped once he opened it. There were tow police officers there. Well one police officer and what looked to be some kind or rag-mummy thing with police gear.

“Stop” Ragman ordered.

“You can do this the easy way or the hard way” the Claw offered.

Unfortunately form him, Dudley H. Dudley chose the hard way. Ragman took him down almost instantly. After he finally stopped struggling he was cuffed and taken into the squad car they had waiting. He felt especially stupid. God, what would happen to Darla now?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes this version of Uncle Dudley/Uncle Marvel is African-American like the Darla Dudley character. He has not met the Earth 41 Marvels (if they're a thing or even go by that name).


	12. The Woman from Thunderworld

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one is what they seem. Well one person in particular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This puts Dino-Cop's conversation with the Justice Incarnate in some perspective. He knew that this was an "Uncle Dudley", hence the offer for very special protection.

_“So I have to ask John, what other universes are out there?” Digg inquired._

_“Oh lots” Dino Cop responded “Avoid the vampire one” he said with full seriousness._

_“A universe of vampires?” Digg asked._

_“Oh yeah” he replied as he took a drink._

 

A blonde woman walked into the room. She was very neat and professional. But she didn't quite look like a lawyer. No. This was a cop.

“We know” she said as she placed a folder on the table between them.

“About what?” he felt he had to ask.  After all, at this point that could cover a lot of ground. 

“We know about the Wild-Card's property” she said, pulling out documents and a photo of the building “we know you and your crew worked on it” she presses “we know the other foremen wound up dead”

“Then you know why I can't help you” he said.  Knowing there was no way to win here.

“We know more” she said pulling out some more papers “mister Dudley, we know about your niece” she continued as she bulled out a photo of a young girl in braids “we know about Darla”

“Oh my god!” mister Dudley exclaimed “Darla?” he questioned, starting to tear-up “Is she okay?” he needed to know.

“Did they threaten your niece mister Dudley?” the detective asked, fairly certain of the answer.

Mister Dudley just nodded.

“It's going to be okay” she said, now in a reassuring tone of voice “the Gotham DA is willing to offer witness protection” she explained “and we can even give Darla a special offer for relocation”

“I don't really care about myself anymore” he sighed “I just don't want those people to get to Darla” he said as he realized this was the only way him or her were going to make it out of this.

“I've been assured that if you accept our offer they will get to work on Darla's re-location immediately” the woman said as she sat down “in fact you'll even get to see her before it happens” she offered.

“Really?” mister Dudley asked half pleadingly.

“Absolutely mister Dudley, I'm one of the good ones” she replied with a warm smile.

“What do you want to know” he asked calmly.

Soon they were taking his statements on everything.  The construction.  The illegal activity he and his crew witnessed.  The threats.  The stuff he still had with him, for insurance.  Afterwards she led him out of the room, where several uniformed officers were waiting, along with a short young woman in a white business suit.  She looked very cheery, but still quite professional.

“Mister Dudley” the detective explained “this is Mary Batson” as she introduced them.

“She's a friend of mine” Dino Cop said “from somewhere else” a bit too vaguely for for comfort.

“Hello” said the Mary “It's always nice to see you, um, mister Dudley” as she shook his hand.  She felt strangely, but reassuringly warm to the touch.

“It's nice to see you” he replied “but I don't think we've met” a bit confused by her choice of words.

“You're right” she seemed to correct herself “I'm here to offer special protection for your niece” returning to the matter at hand.

“Really?” mister Dudley asked.

“Oh yes” she explained “I can offer a very special re-location program for her”

“How special?” the man wondered aloud.

“It's out of this world!” miss Batson said, a bit too eagerly “I mean, it will put her completely out of the reach of any criminals in this world”

“How can you guarantee that?” mister Dudley asked, a bit more curious and less assured than before this started.

“I'm not really at liberty to say” Mary Batson stated firmly and plainly.

“Government secret?” mister Dudley pried.  She didn't quite seem to be with the Feds, but that woudl make the most sense. 

“No” Mary replied hesitantly “not exactly”

“Oh!” mister Dudley said with realization “This is super-powers weirdness stuff”

“It's kind of hard to explain” Dino Cop offered.

“I'm not even sure I get it” the detective said.

“It's cool Dinah” Dino Cop reassured “she has experience with this”

Later they would be taking him and Darla to a nearby ice-cream shop.  Nice touches like this were good for witnesses.  Also Mary insisted.

“Hello Darla” mister Dudley said offering his hand to his niece.

“Hello?” she replied, half-hiding behind officer Diggle.

“I don't know if you remember me” he said crouching down on his knees “I'm your uncle Dudley”

“My uncle?” she asked.  She was used to not having family at this point.

“Yes darlin'” he replied “I'm your family” choking back tears as she took his hand.

“Do you know there people?” she asked in reference to the police and woman in the suit.

“Yes” mister Dudley said “they're uncle Dudley's friends” he explained  “this is miss Mary, you're going to be staying with her for a wile”

“I'm not comming with you?” she asked, with obvious disappointment in her voice.

“I'm sorry Darla” mister Dudley replied sadly “but it's not safe” he told her “there are some bad people who want to hurt your uncle, but miss Mary here can take you some place safe”

“Oh” she said understandingly.  Maybe a bit too-much so for someone so young.

“But maybe you can come see uncle Dudley after all of this is over” he offered “would you like that?”

“Sure!” she said, now a bit excited.

“Well then do you have any questions for me Darla?” Mary asked.

“Are you a super-hero?” Darla asked her plainly.

“Right to the chase!” Mary laughed “You're cleaver, just like your uncle” she said “you know super-heroes have to keep their identities secret” she finished winking at Darla.

“Oh!” Darla replied knowingly.

After they finished their food and desert of course, they headed out.  A shady looking came at them.  He drew a knife.

“It's one of the Wild-Card's men!” Digg yelled out

“Darla swetie” the young woman stated calmly “get behind me”

“SHAZAM!” the young woman spoke in a loud voice, but the voice didn't sound like hers. Lightning crackled and a thunderbolt from the sky struck her.

Instantly she was transformed. She was a whole foot taller and her clothes were changed into a brilliant white costume with a thunderbolt insignia and golden cape. Dudley noticed there was something different, no something wrong, about the way she looked. It was like she was glowing, but she wasn't. It was like somehow more light shown on her then other people. He features were smoother in a sort of almost too-perfect way that touched-up photographs look. When she smiled it was somehow more expressive than it should be, but not like she was trying too hard. He also realized she'd always looked a bit this way, but now it was more noticeable. He finally understood. Darla would be safe. She could take her somewhere they couldn't follow. They could take her to a whole different universe. Everyone knew other universes were a thing since the defeat of Supremo, by none other than Supremo himself, but form another universe, one where he wasn't a psycho. He didn't know how many universes there were, but he knew from the very “differentness” of this woman, that she didn't belong in this one. That she came from a place that was somehow brighter and more full of light.

“Thank the goddesses!” she exclaimed “I was tired of pretending to be a social-worker!”

The man lunged his knife toward her. It bounced right off of her skin. She grabbed his hand. She crushed it like it was a wad of paper and twisted his arm in a single motion.

A second man ran towards her. She backhanded him, not even turning to look his direction. There was an audible pop from his jaw breaking as he flew back from the impact. He few across the street and cracked his ribs slamming into the wall of a building. As the two of them doubled over in pain, a third man ran off. Officers were quick to show up and arrest the two attackers. Mister Dudley and Darla were hurried into a police car.

The man was unfamiliar with these streets. He didn't like this place. So open. So much green. He was too exposed. He saw an alleyway and darted into it. Which turned out to be the worst idea ever as he almost ran head-on into an orange stegosaurus. He quickly turned around only to see the Claw drop down behind him. He paused just long enough for the dino-cop to subdue and cuff him. He was not cut-out for this. Vigilantes, super-powers freaking dinosaurs!

“Well that was unfortunate” Mary Marvel said.

“I'll say” replied mister Dudley berating heavily.

“But I think that's my cue for Darla and I to head out” she explained, a bit somberly.

“By sweetie” mister Dudley said to his only niece “I'll see you soon”

BOOM!

A swirling portal opened behind Mary.

“Let's go to Earth 5” she offered Darla “You'll be safe there” taking her small.

Darla walked with Mary into the portal and just like that Darla was gone. Darla was safe, an infinite space separated them from the harm of this world now. Those bastards couldn't use her to threaten him anymore. He hoped they all rotted in a cell.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. Street-thugs get totally spanked when they go up against full-on divine empowerment. Yes Mary did recognize him. This Mary has traveled the multiverse enough to recognize an Uncle Marvel immediately.


	13. The Real Villain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything finally come to a head in the origin-arc for the Claw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is basically just one big action sequence with little breaks of dialogue.

_He didn't understand. They were his men. That was his gang. It wasn't hers! Why would they do this to him? Why would she do this to him? What was he to her? A patsy? A science experiment? He was supposed to be big. He was supposed to run this city._

_He didn't understand. They were always her men. It was always her gang. All hers! She had been conditioning him for this form the start. She had been conditioning them too. He had been a good patsy. He had been a successful experiment. But she was done with him now. She was going on to bigger things. She was going to run this town. Pamela was her key._

 

Mister Dudley shared everything with them they wanted. He even had kept his hands on building plans and blueprints, just in case they found him. All the hidden rooms and passageways. Everywhere they could hide contraband. All of it. Most importantly this allowed the Scorpion and his team to formulate their attack. Best of all his testimony would put most of the members of Wild-Card's organization behind bars.

They had to act fast. This Crime Doctor would be onto them. They wouldn't have much time. The design was very secure. All the widows on those floors were barred and reinforced. The roof-access was well guarded, and the only way in was via a special elevator. However there was a storeroom just above a unit in the building. Jason had worked his way far enough into the organization now that he had been inside the headquarters. They had arranged for him to be taken there the same night they would strike. On his way in he would plant their tech for them. Allowing them to disable the security system. Stephanie managed to also get herself invited to a party that was going to happen that night. They had cased the owners of the place already. They were definitely not affiliated with the Wild-Card.

Stephanie pretended that the party had gone bad, and convinced them to open the door. Scorpion, Stinger and Claw then made their way in. They set up and began cutting into the ceiling to get into the storage area. Once they were in, Scorpionfly would distract the rest of the men on the roof. Oracle had access to their system and set the cameras on loop and disabled the alarms.

Stealth was the priority. Once they were out of the storage area, they had to make it though two more floors. As they went they took out the guards that had been left behind. Two guards spotted Claw as they were headed to the next floor and she was able to take them out before they could raise any alarm. On the next floor they split up. Stinger would go to their servers, and connect Oracle. Claw would get into their drug-lab to make sure evidence was gathered. Scorpion would take out the rest of the guards. Stinger took out four guards in the server-room with his darts, one by one before he connected Oracle. Claw had to take out three guards on the way to the lab. Inside the lab there was a tech in a lab coat. He put up a better fight than she was expecting, but she took him out as well. Inside the lab she found notes on the drugs effects and most importantly a sample that was clearly from Tyler Chemical. The Scorpion caught-up with Claw first taking out a patrol that was about to stumble on her. Soon Stinger caught up with them, taking out a guard that just saw them. Two men behind Stinger pointed their guns at the group, and Scorpion took out the one on the right and Claw took out the one on the left. The top floor was going to be more complicated. Oracle would need a direct connection to the control room that had been built there. They also needed to get to the Wild-Card and to the Crime Doctor. All of this while not exposing Jason or their plan too soon.

On the roof Scorpionfly was losing his ground as more and more henchmen came for him and he ran out of fuel for his jet-pack. Even then he held them off. But they were relentless. It took four men at once to wrestle him down. They took him in. They were gong to take him to the Wild Card. They dragged him down the stairs. They took him into an office and tied him to a chair. Wild-Card came in accompanied by a well-dressed blonde woman. There were four guards with them, and then two guards behind him. It was just like they had planned. Jason was there. Wild-Card and the Crime Doctor were both there.

Fortunately, everything was keeping with their schedule, and they got Scorpionfly's signal just in time. The Scorpion took the elevator up. Stinger and Claw would take the stairs. The elevator doors opened, and two henchmen saw the scorpion right there. They drew their guns and ran toward him. He ducked and his tail took them out. Soon more men arrived. As he drew their attention, Claw and Stinger made their way to the control room. They linked Oracle in. Here was the information they had been looking for. The dealers. the supply network. The blackmail information. They headed out. They had to catch-up with the Scorpion.

“So the scorpion sends his winged lackey?” Wild-Card stated, as much as questioned.

“You're going to go down” Scropionfly responded defiantly.

“Oh! Are you so sure, captain-affirmative-action?” Quipped Wild-Card, in as snide of a tone as he could manage.

“Fuck you psycho cracker!” spat Scorpionfly into Wild-Card's face.

“Such language” Wild-Card replied “Didn't your mother teach you better?” wiping the spit with a handkerchief.

“Why don't we see who's under that mask?” Suggested the blond woman.

“Oh yes!” exclaimed Wild-Card “Let's! I love unwrapping resents!” as he bounced excitedly “It will be good fun for the new guy” and signaling to one of the men behind the prisoner, to unmask him.

KZZZZT! The mask shocked the man, burning his hands.

“It has security measures you dignbats” Scorpionfly informed them.

“Well maybe we'll just take the res of your face off with it?” Wild-Card said, leaning in and putting a knife up to Scropionfly's cheek.

“Sir” exclaimed another man “There's an intruder” entering the room.

“Well send men down to take care of it” Wild-Card ordered.

“But sir” the man replied “It's on the top floor” with hesitation “here”

“The Scorpion?” the blond woman asked.

“Yes” the man answered.

“So you were just the bait” the Crime Doctor concluded aloud.

“Bingo!” responded Scorpionfly “you must be the smart one.”

“None of the security systems were tripped” she informed, as Wild-Card directed the man to leave the room “They're already in the system” she concluded looking at a display on the desk “Attention everyone” she said pressing an intercom button on the desk, that did nothing “why isn't this thing working?” she exclaimed with frustration “why the fuck did we setup a state-of-the-art headquarters if NOTHING IS GOING TO WORK!?”

“Fuck!” Wild-Card let out “We still got the flying bug though?” as though he was hoping it wasn't a total loss.

“Kill him” the Crime Doctor said “it's a trap” as plainly as though she was putting in an order for take-out.

The time for Jason's cover was over. He drew his gun. The other men drew theirs. Then one of them pointed his gun at one of the others. He touched his neck. A sort of hexagonal mesh flickered and he, now she, pulled it off revealing the featured of a woman with short black hair. Vague.

“Yes it is” she said turning to the crime bosses “Doc”

Shots were fired. Blows were exchanged. Vague took out one with a shot to the leg. Jason shot another in the arm, and the second dodged to get taken out by a roundhouse kick from Vague. After a couple of exchanged rounds of shots Jason managed to get close enough to knock out the last guard with the but of his gun. Meanwhile Wild-Card and the Crime Doctor had escaped though a secret passage. They untied Scorpionfly.

“Scorpion” Scorpionfly informed his teammates over their comms “Wild-Card & the Doc are getting away through a secret passage”

“I've got their location” Oracle informed them,

“On it” Scorpion replied.

“They have a helicopter coming in” Oracle informed them “Scorpoonfly, Vague you need to follow them so they can't double-back” he directed “Claw and Stinger” he informed “you need to inept them on the roof” “tell our mole to meet our distraction”

“On it Oracle” Claw responded.

“Heard that” Vague replied.

“Here you go kid” Scropionly said, handing an earpiece to Jason Todd.

“How's your comms?” Oracle asked Jason.

“They're good Oracle” Jason responded.

“You know I might get used to this” Oracle said, with a bit of comphort in his voice “Now, get to Stephanie” he instructed “you guys are going to want to start getting people out of the building” “this could go south”

Scorpionfly and Vague followed the trail of the master-criminals. The Scorpion made his way to intercept them. By this time most of the gangsters had realized they were under attack. Vauge and Scorpionfly encountered six men in the narrow hallway leading out of the secret passage. The tight space made fighting difficult. But Vague's skill and Scorpionfly's exosuit made them more than formidable. The Scorpion encountered four men on his rout. Unlike his previous encounters he no longer had the element of surprise. Claw and Stinger ran into a group of eight men on their way to the roof access. Scorpionfly punched out the first man and flipped Vague over the second, with her landing a kick in the face of the third. The Scorpion's tail took out two of the men, and he managed to disarm the other two. Stinger managed to take out two man right away. The Claw disabled another two in a few seconds, everyone hearing the crunching noises as her claws broke their arms. Vauge deflected knife-blows form the fourth man while Scorpionfly kicked the second man over to her. Vague swung him around her, causing him to take the fourth man's knife in his arm. The Scorpion took out the third man with a well-placed right-hook to the jaw, with an audible crack. Stinger kicked one man in the head, and another in the gut, sending him to the Claw who tossed him into a third man. Scorpionfly somersaulted over Vague, knocking out the fourth man. The final man the Scorpion faced pulled a switch blade on him, and the Scorpion fenced him with his tail. The last man pulled out his gun, and fired at Claw and Stinger, but they were too agile, and the Claw's robotic limbs were bulletproof. Vague ran up the side of the wall punching out the fifth man and landing a kick squarely on the jaw of the sixth and final opponent. While the last guard was occupied with fending of the Scorpion's tail, he took advantage of having an extra limb and took a punch to the man's gut when he had an opening. His opponent doubled over and the Scorpion disarmed and subdued him. Wile the Claw drew his fire Stinger took his shot the last thug went down under the effects of the sedative.

The Wild-Card, Crime Doctor and their entourage made it to the roof-access just as the Scorpion was about to intercept them. With the Scorpion right behind them they were supprised by the Claw and Stinger in front of them on the roof.

“Cover me!” the Crime Doctor ordered the six remaining guards.

“No you fools you cover me” argued the Wild-Card. Unfortunately, for the wild-card, the men showed their true loyalty, and covered his girlfriend, just as Vague and Scorpionfly made it out of the building.

“Sorry Wild-Card” Vague quipped “guess you're not in charge anymore”

The Scorpion and his allies had them all surrounded now. One of the man pulled a gun and began firing at the Scorpion. Soon all the men were either firing at or fighting with the vigilantes. The helecopter approached the roof and the gang made their way to the fornt of the building.

“Fuck all of you!” yelled Wild-Card “This place is rigged to blow!” puling out a detonator.

“Shit!” Oracle exclaimed “Stephanie, Jason get everyone out of the building now!”

“We're on it Oracle” Stephanie responded.

**KABOOM!**

“Too late bugzy!” retorted a shaken Wild-Card.

“You think I came alone, you idiot” snarked Vague “Nimrod Squad” she called out “make sure everyone gets out of the building”

“No! No! No!” Wild -Card screamed “I'll fucking kill you all!”

Flintsein the K-Crystal Creature, Fletch and his Emerald Arrows and Sepulcher the Penitent Vampire all sprung into action at the call of their team leader. Oracle directed Flintstein to the point on the building to brace to hold it up. Fletch used his Weapon of Light to brace the walls and create escape ladders for the upper floors. Sepulcher used his supernatural speed to evacuate the first floor and work his way up.

Several stories up Jason Todd and Stephanie Brown had already begun going door-to door getting people out. But things were already tense after Jason broke up the party. When the explosions went off people started to stampede and trample each other.

**Bang!** Jason Shot off his gun.

“Listen up!” “Everyone is going to calm the fuck down and we all going to get out of here”

“We have help outside” Stephanie yelled “So unless you want your psycho land-lords to kill you all we're going to work together”

“Scorpionfly” the Claw called “here” as two canisters canisters came out of compartments in her arms. Scropionfly's suit simultaneously ejected its empty fuel tanks. The Claw threw the tanks to Scropionfly, who caught them and installed them in a single motion. A ladder descended from the helicopter and the Crime Doctor began to climb-up. As Scorpionfly took to the air, a man in the helicopter pulled out an automatic rifle and opened fire.

The Scorpion, Stinger and Vague took on the men on the ground trying to cover the Crime Doctor's escape. Wild-Card broke off and tried to make a run for the fire escape. The Claw went after him. She dodged three shots form a pistol Wild-Card was carrying. As she ran after him, she leaned forward, flipped and used her momentum to kick him in the back of the head. They tumbled. Wild-Card tried to pull a knife on the Claw. Her robotic limb intercepted it, crushing his hand. She managed to pin him down. He attempted to kick her off of him. Machines inside the arms whirred, and the secondary arms detached form the claw architecture. They pinned the Wild-Card's legs. He continued to struggle. Having had quite enough, the Claw head-butted the Wild-Card, knocking him out. She had nightmares about this man. Now lying her like this, knowing what she knew now, he didn't look scary to her, he just looked pathetic.

The tenants were out of the building. Scropionfly was dodging the shots form the helicopter. An old man form the apartment had a rifle with him and began to fire at the helicopter, cheered on and applauded by the crowd. The Crime Doctor had just made it up the ladder. Several other people also started shooting. Someone made the lucky shot that hit the tail rotor. The Crime Doctor grabbed a jet-pack, and took off into the night, leaving her men to die in the impending fiery crash. Scorpionfly dove for the building. Fletch shot off an arrow form his crossbow that hit the base of the building and transformed into a large cushion. Scorpion, Stinger and Vague got the men off the top of the building. The helicopter crashed into it just as Fletch's supports de-materialized. The confluence of the helicopter crash and building demolition was quite spectacular.

 

_A couple of weeks afterwards Bruce Wayne broke ground on a new residential tower, on the grounds of the former tenement building. It would have every amenity. All the former residents would be welcomed back at their old rates. Though some of the board we skeptical, the good publicity from the idea quickly won them over. Commissioner Dent and the GPD broke-up all the tainted drug rings. DA Gordon led the prosecution of the Wild-Card, in what became a highly publicized trail. With the Crime Doctor gone and Wild-Card locked up, half of the men they captured turned on him for reduced sentences. The Falcones and Burtinellis took back their lost territories, and the city returned to normal, well what passed for normal in Gotham._

 

_Somewhere, far form Gotham, Harley Quinzel and Pamela Ivesley were looking over some patient files._

_“So your first success?” Pamela said, handing a glass of scotch to her partner._

_“Yes” she said taking a swig form the glass “Now it's time for bigger things” looking at patient files for Basil Karlo, Edward Nygma, Jervis Tech and Sebastian Blood. Things were only getting started for the Crime Doctor._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it the climax of the Claw's origin. The Wild-Card arc is closed, and a new chapter for Earth 41's Gotham City's crime-fighters begins, as there is now a criminal with the psychological knowledge to create new enemies for our team!

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a starting point. I know there isn't much. Also, I honestly feel bad about putting a different-universe version of Barbara through this sort of thing, but the idea came to me and then the details just kept pouring into my head. There's 13 or so chapters of this I just kind of spewed onto my computers keyboard. I don't even know why.


End file.
